Suspected petty thief loses leg in botched robbery

A suspected petty thief has learnt the hard way that crime does not pay after his leg was amputated following a robbery incident that painfully went wrong.

Pitso Motlhankana, 28, had allegedly tried to rob passengers in a Molepolole bound combi when the driver accelerated the vehicle, knocking him down and crushing his ankle causing him to lose part of his right leg.

Motlhankana from Chadibe ward in Molepolole, later had his leg amputated at Princess Marina Hospital after the dreadful accident which occurred on September 2nd, 2017.

It is alleged that when the vehicle approached Blue Bows English Medium School, just before Molepolole, Motlhankana asked the driver to drop him off as he claimed to have arrived.

While the other unsuspecting passengers waiting for the young man to disembark, he is said to have quickly pulled out a canister of pepper spray from his pocket and sprayed them.

One of the passengers is said to have grabbed him by the clothes and the tussled with him until they both fell on the tarmac.

Seeing this, the driver sped off and drove over the suspect’s leg.

It was later confirmed at the hospital that Motlhankana’s ankle was irreparable and that it had to be amputated.

The now one-legged Motlhankana, whose criminal CV boasts of numerous petty crimes including lv handbags snatching and housebreaking, last Thursday appeared before Molepolole Magistrates court to answer for four counts of robbery and rape offences.

When given the chance to address the court, Motlhankana revealed that he recently went through an unsuccessful operation at PMH after his broken leg started to decompose.

Motlhanka further told Senior Magistrate Lindiwe Makgoro that he lost his leg after he was run over by a combi as the driver assumed he would flee without paying the P10.00 bus fare.

For his other offences, it is reported that on September 12th at Magokotswane ward, still in Molepolole, Motlhankana raped a 32-year-old woman and robbed her of her Orange Kliff cellphone valued at P299.00, a six pack Savanna valued P90.00 and cash amounting P216.00 all adding to a total value of P605.00.

He then appeared in a different courtroom before Magistrate Rosemary Khuto to answer for two counts of housebreaking and stealing from a dwelling place.

According to the charges read before the court, on the 18th January 2016 at Magokotswane ward, the accused entered a dwelling house belonging to Motlhagodi Peloyame and stole property including two pairs of ladies sandals, cellphones, three full chickens and others all amounting P4 640.00.

The prosecutor Assistant Superintendent Uyapo Koketso said the investigations in all the matters are complete and that the accused should further be remanded in custody as he had been eluding arrest and only got caught after the accident that claimed his leg.